Assistant Director of Communications Department of Computer Science College of Engineering University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

This position is responsible for conceptualizing, writing, creating, producing, and distributing content across multi-platform publications. Serve as a key member of the Department of Computer Science advancement team, whose mission is to deliver a comprehensive and integrated program to increase the visibility and profile of the department, to facilitate faculty, staff, student, alumni, and industry engagement, and to secure substantial financial support through individual, foundation, and corporate giving that strengthens the department's ability to maintain and enhance its excellence. The department's highly visible and high-impact publications serve the diverse audiences of faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors, and peers.

Major Duties & Responsibilities:

Manage relationships with all the department's key constituencies (administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and peers) to develop a deep knowledge of the department's priorities and the accomplishments of its people in order to strategically position and promote the department's excellence

Act as lead writer for the department's high-visibility communications, including:

initiate and develop the year-long calendar for story ideas and publication planning based on department priorities and a deep knowledge about the accomplishments of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni

execute stories from start to finish and doing so within the deadlines required for the publication production schedules

Responsible for implementing policies and guidelines that govern content accuracy and branding standards set by the department and university (i.e. Public Affairs)

Set annual goals and metrics for projects, track project progress, and report on project impacts

Attend numerous department sponsored activities and events (often on evenings and weekends) in order to observe and interview participants to acquire the information required to write stories and then distribute created content as deemed appropriate

Contribute as a member of the advancement team to further the advancement mission of the department; work collaboratively with teammates and key stakeholders such as faculty, staff, students, and alumni

Assume additional appropriate related communications duties to further the mission of the department

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field

At least three years of experience as a professional writer, with excellent knowledge of spoken and written English for editing and creating correspondence, storytelling, and report generation

Experience with interviewing and information gathering, organizing information in databases or spreadsheets, and preparing professionally written materials

Experience with writing and communicating complex and/or technical information to both technical and nontechnical audiences

Experience working independently and as part of a team, and the ability to manage both individual and team deadlines on multiple, simultaneous projects under tight deadlines

Must have the ability to develop effective working relationships with faculty, staff, students, alumni, media, and other key publics

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills

Ability to work a flexible schedule to attend department-sponsored activities and events

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience working in an academic research and instructional setting

Knowledge of or interest in the department's research areas and its impact to the field of computer science

Complimentary skills such as a demonstrated knowledge of desktop publishing, web design, web site development and maintenance, accessibility standards, blogging, podcasting, social media, print production, graphic design, and photography and art from the perspective of a project manager

Specific proficiencies with Drupal 7, Photoshop, InDesign, Microsoft Office Suite, University of Illinois WebTools, University of Illinois Blackbaud CRM (TED), and Social Media management in Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram are highly desired

The Awards Specialist position is a full-time, benefits-eligible academic professional position appointed on a 12-month service basis. The expected start date is as soon as possible after the closing date. Applicants may be interviewed before the closing date; however, no hiring decision will be made until after that date. Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications.

To apply for this position, please create your candidate profile at http://jobs.illinois.edu and upload the following to be considered a complete application: (1) Cover Letter, (2) Resume, (3) Three References, and (4) Three Relevant Writing Samples by May 19, 2017. The writing samples should include (a) a long-form feature story, (b) a short news article, and (c) a profile of an individual. Full consideration will be given to complete applications received by the closing date. For further information regarding application procedures, contact Denise Corray, decorray@illinois.edu, 217-300-3309.

The University of Illinois conducts criminal background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer.

The University of Illinois is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer. Minorities, women, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. For more information, visit http://go.illinois.edu/EEO. To learn more about the University's commitment to diversity, please visit http://www.inclusiveillinois.illinois.edu

Organization Name: Computer Science College Name or Administrative Unit: Engineering Category: Academic Professional Open Date: 05/04/2017 Close Date: 05/19/2017